Impact of Deferred Versus Continuous Sheep Grazing on Soil Compaction in the Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem
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Published:2023-04-20
Issue:2
Volume:5
Page:761-776
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ISSN:2624-7402
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Container-title:AgriEngineering
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language:en
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Short-container-title:AgriEngineering
Author:
Serrano João1ORCID, Carreira Emanuel1, Shahidian Shakib1, de Carvalho Mário1, Marques da Silva José12ORCID, Paniagua Luís Lorenzo3ORCID, Moral Francisco4ORCID, Pereira Alfredo1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal 2. AgroInsider Lda., 7005-841 Évora, Portugal 3. Escuela de Ingenierías Agrarias, Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida Adolfo Suárez, S/N, 06007 Badajoz, Spain 4. Departamento de Expresión Gráfica, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas, S/N, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Abstract
Deferred grazing (DG) consists in adapting the number of animals and the number of days grazed to the availability of pasture. Compared to continuous grazing (CG), which is based on a permanent and low stocking rate, DG is a management strategy that aims at optimizing the use of the resources available in the Mediterranean Montado ecosystem. This study with sheep grazing, carried out between 2019 and 2021 on a 4 ha pasture in Alentejo region of the Southern of Portugal, assesses the impact of these two grazing management systems on soil compaction as a result of animal trampling. This area of native natural grassland (a dryland pasture, mixture of grasses, legumes, and composite species) was divided into four grazing parks of 1 ha each, two under DG management and two under CG management. At the end of the study, the cone index (CI, in kPa) was measured in the topsoil layer (0–30 cm) with an electronic cone penetrometer at 48 georeferenced areas (12 in each park). The results of CI measurement showed no significant differences between treatments in all depths measured (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm). These findings are encouraging from the point of view of soil conservation and sustainability, revealing good prospects for the intensification of extensive livestock production. Future work should evaluate the long-term impact and consider, at the same time, other ecosystem services and system productivity indicators.
Funder
National Funds through the FCT
Subject
Engineering (miscellaneous),Horticulture,Food Science,Agronomy and Crop Science
Reference40 articles.
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